Trump takes victory lap after Smith moves to drop cases

President-elect Trump boasted on Monday about special counsel Jack Smith’s move to drop the federal cases against him.

“These cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform, shortly after news broke that Smith moved to dismiss both his election interference case and his classified documents case against Trump.

“Over $100 Million Dollars of Taxpayer Dollars has been wasted in the Democrat Party’s fight against their Political Opponent, ME. Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before,” Trump added.

Smith cited the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) long-standing policy against prosecuting a sitting president on Monday, moving to dismiss the two criminal federal cases against Trump.

“After careful consideration, the Department has determined that OLC’s prior opinions concerning the Constitution’s prohibition on federal indictment and prosecution of a sitting President apply to this situation and that as a result this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” Smith’s team wrote in the Jan. 6 case, referencing the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel.

“That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind.”

In Trump’s documents case in Florida, where he is facing charges for violating the Espionage Act and obstructing justice, Smith also moved to dismiss an appeal to a motion tossing the case — a move that would likewise end that prosecution.

The Justice Department will continue pursuing charges in the case against Trump’s two co-defendants, Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira. Smith noted in the filing that neither of them have immunity.

Smith moved to dismiss both cases “without prejudice,” leaving the door open to potential future charges. Prosecutors down the line could seek to argue that the statute of limitations for charges related to those crimes should essentially be on hold while Trump is in office and unable to be charged.

Smith is planning to resign from the DOJ ahead of Trump's inauguration, after which Trump has said that he would fire the special counsel “within two seconds.”